A married couple have told the family synod that friends who welcomed their gay son's partner to a Christmas celebration are a "model for evangelisation". Ron and Mavis Pirola were giving their testimony to the extraordinary synod which got underway at the Vatican today. In their testimony they said that the "domestic church has much to offer the wider Church in its evangelising role", adding that "the Church constantly faces the tension of upholding the truth while expressing compassion and mercy - families face this tension all the time." The testimony continued: "Take homosexuality as an example. Friends of ours were planning their Christmas family gathering when their gay son said he wanted to bring his partner home too. They fully believed in the Church’s teachings and they knew their grandchildren would see them welcome the son and his partner into the family. Their response could be summed up in three words, ‘He is our son’. "What a model of evangelisation for parishes as they respond to similar situations in their neghbourhood! It is a practical example of what the Instrumentum laboris says concerning the Church’s teaching role and its main mission to let the world know of God’s love."